A Longitudinal Iterative Convergent Approach to Netnography

Netnography is a new approach that uses ethnographic principles to provide rich insights into human society. It combines archival and online communications, participation and observation, with new forms of digital and network data collection, analysis and research representation. While the use of Netnography is gaining momentum there are a few weaknesses that pose a limitation to its wide spread use. The limitations are in terms of single cycle studies lacking the power to unearth deep insights, to adequately understand a rapidly evolving field, and issues of generalizability and validity. Hence for the generalizability, validity, and usefulness of the method, we suggest three mechanisms to extend and enhance the Netnographic approach namely: longitudinal, iterations, and convergence. We adapted and extended the traditional Netnographic approach with a few more steps that fulfill the requirements and address the weaknesses. We have applied this approach to a longitudinal multi-year multi-iteration study